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Education Article by Jeff Morrison |
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EDUCATION, NETWORKING, & EXPERIENCE: THE KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER OPERATORS By Jeff Morrison, Assistant Director, OTCO I feel very fortunate to have been brought up in this business in a manner I have come to accept as the proper way to be brought up. Most of the successful and competent people I know in the water and wastewater industry have gone through the very same ordeal. There are rough spots along the way in the personal decisions we make, but one thing is never compromised, the health and safety of our customers, our fellow employees, and anyone else connected with our utility. In my current position as Assistant Director of Operator Training, I field a lot of calls from people who want to "know just enough to pass the state exam". "There is this job I want to get and I have to have an Operators License to get it." The fact that the advertised job is asking for an "Operators License" implies that a certain level of expertise is demanded of the position and that a great deal of responsibility for plant operations goes along with it. The intent of this article is to outline the things that are necessary to become not only a "licensed" operator, but a "competent" one as well. The process of becoming a competent licensed operator is not easy nor is it accomplished in a hurry. If there is a fast-approaching deadline or if you have less than a year to obtain an operators license, your chances are slim to none that you will be successful. And if you did and found yourself in responsible charge of a system, would you know what to do in an emergency, or how to properly change a gas chlorine cylinder with little or no practical experience? Definitely not! You could get in a lot of trouble, you could get hurt, or you could get killed and the same could happen to others around you. There are many good operator training programs in existence. There are also many workshops, short schools, books, CD's, and other materials devoted to becoming a better operator. However, as far as I know, there is no course to "teach the exam". The Ohio EPA exams are designed to test an individual on a variety of treatment processes for each classification and everyone testing for that classification takes the same test, whether you have that type of process in your system or not. If you don't have an activated sludge process wastewater plant or an ion-exchange water treatment plant you will still have to have a good bit of knowledge on them to pass either exam. Networking with other operators and visiting their plants will give you some idea how these processes work. You won't be an expert, but the processes that you don't have at your plant will not be totally foreign to you. This knowledge can help you in a way other than just assisting you in passing the exam. A Class I, II, or III license can be used at any Class I, II, or III plant in Ohio. Having knowledge and experience in a variety of treatment processes can only improve your chances for advancement in public utilities. If you work in a small system with limited or no help, when you first start out you should have a "mentor" to assist you in making operational decisions. As I stated above, making some decisions without education and hands-on experience can be costly and dangerous. If you need a "technical supervisor", to oversee your operations and sign your monthly reports, choose one that has time to spend with you. That person should be willing to spend as much time with you as necessary to see that you understand the treatment process you have and how to safely and efficiently operate your system. If that person has no experience with your process, or is lacking in available time or mechanical aptitude, find someone else. It takes a great deal of experience to be proficient in the operation of any treatment plant. An ideal situation is to learn from your superiors and senior operators in a large facility, but this is not always the way it happens. A lot of people get started in this business in a small system. It may be more difficult, but it is not impossible. Your education can start by completing an OTCO Classroom or Correspondence Course in either water or wastewater. Experience will come with time and a diligent effort to understand your system. Get to know your neighbor operators and ask questions about their systems. Find a good "mentor". These are the things that will make you a proficient as well as a licensed operator. Jeff Morrison August 10, 1999 |
